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Vince Gennaro

Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball Hardcover – March 5, 2007

by Vince Gennaro (Author)

24 ratings

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Diamond Dollars is a fresh, provocative, insightful, and analytical look at the business of baseball. Using the win-revenue relationship as a foundation, author Vince Gennaro delves deeply to explain how a team’s level of competitiveness impacts the “value” of its players, to explore how a well-developed farm system contributes to a team’s economic value, and to discuss some recent business trends, such as team-owned regional sports television networks.

In doing so, Gennaro answers a number of questions that speak to baseball’s bottom line. How does winning affect revenues for each team? What is a player’s economic value to his team? Why does a berth in the postseason have great economic value? What is the economic value of a productive farm system? Does competitive balance exist in baseball today? He also examines the differences in small-market and large-market teams, discussing how economic and revenue opportunities vary, and highlighting the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox and their methods.

The book Moneyball was a breakthrough for baseball because it unveiled inefficiences in the way talent was evaluated. In a similar fashion, Diamond Dollars addresses the inefficiency in the way players are compensated and delivers an unparalleled inside look at the economics of baseball today. For more information, including detailed reviews and interviews with Vince Gennaro, please log onto Maple Street Press's website

A publication of Maple Street Press, distributed by Potomac Books, Inc.

Print length

250 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Pub. by Maple Street Press, Dist. by Potomac Books
Publication date

March 5, 2007
Dimensions

7.5 x 1 x 9.25 inches
ISBN-10

0977743632
ISBN-13

978-0977743636
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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Diamond Dollars provides an insightful look at the business of baseball--at the free agent market, teams' scouting and player development systems, and how clubs market their brands. The book mixes Vince's business acumen as a top executive at a Fortune 50 company with his passion for the national pastime." --Mark Attanasio, Chairman and Principal Owner, Milwaukee Brewers

"Vince Gennaro shows a profound understanding of the economics of a team's baseball decisions. His analyses of a team's win-revenue relationship, the player development system and player valuation, make for a remarkably innovative examination of the baseball front office model that's just as informative for a baseball executive as for a fan." --Chris Antonetti, Assistant General Manager, Cleveland Indians

"Diamond Dollars offers up exciting and stimulating new ideas about the business of baseball. It provides a set of metrics for decisions that have typically been a "gut feeling" for many organizations. I think teams should make this required reading for everyone in their organizations." --Jim Beattie, former Executive VP and General Manager, Baltimore Orioles and Montreal Expos

"Vince Gennaro has written the best book I've read on the business of baseball. It serves as both a "how-to manual" for baseball owners and a tour guide for fans who scratch their heads at the things their teams do. It should find plenty of readers in both camps." --Dave Studenmund, Editor, The Hardball Times Annual

About the Author

Following a highly successful twenty-year career at Pepsico, where he was president of a billion-dollar division, Vince Gennaro is currently a consultant to Major League Baseball teams. His innovative analytical work on the business and economics of baseball has been featured in the New York Times and he has written for The Hardball Times, Boston Baseball, the Maple Street Press 2006 Red Sox Annual, and the Baseball Research Journal. He recently authored his first book, Field of Dreamers: Tales From Baseball Fantasy Camp. A member for the Society for American Baseball Research, Gennaro holds a master’s degree from the University of Chicago. He resides in Purchase, New York.

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Pub. by Maple Street Press, Dist. by Potomac Books; First Edition (March 5, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 250 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0977743632
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0977743636
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.03 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 1 x 9.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #296,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #535 in Baseball (Books)

Customer Reviews:
24 ratings

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4 star		14%
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Amazon Customer

An excellent introduction to valuation concepts

Reviewed in the United States on February 17, 2008

Verified Purchase

I really liked this book, though more for it's mere existence than its independent value. It does a great job of highlighting the sources of revenue for sports franchises and how the various components of a business interact to create value.

Regarding baseball, it provides an excellent basic analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by major league teams of all sizes. I would have liked to have seen more detailed rankings of all teams rather than focusing on a few at the top and bottom end of the value scales but I'll take what I can get. As far as I know this book provides the best accessible analysis of the economics of baseball so while I can see multiple areas where it could be improved (details of more teams, more insight via appendices into the valuation assumptions made at various points), it's still well worth reading.

As a side point, I think the real value of the book may be its applicability to teaching some business fundamentals. It provides a very readable introduction to a variety of valuation concepts that are not always easy to communicate. I could easily see this being a valuable addition to business schools reading lists.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Michael S. Flak

Not as Efficient as I would have Hoped...

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2010

Verified Purchase

This book would have made a much better 20-30 page essay than a self-contained book. The four basic points made are:
A.) Winning teams draw more interest/make more money--especially if they are playoff contenders,
B.) Each player's performance increases/decreases a team's chance of winning to a certain degree. Finding out exactly how much a player impacts a team will help to determine if the player is worth signing/keeping.
C.) Players built up from the minors are much cheaper than free agents. Thus, each team should focus on developing their minor league/player development systems.
D.) There is a certain balance of free-agent/high-priced players vs. cheap, home-grown types that is optimal for winning.

While I don't disagree, there's nothing particularly innovative about the author's approach. The writing was rather business-textbook-like and not terribly engaging. I prefer BP's "Baseball Between the Numbers" for a primer on the economic concerns of baseball.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Andrew

Conceptually Strong

Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2015

Verified Purchase

Conceptually, this book is still rock-solid. However, being that it was written in 2007, there have been huge advancements in statistical gathering and application over the past 8 years. But overall, simply understanding the concepts posited by this book does transform the way that you view front office baseball decisions.

Helpful

Geoffrey

but a good discussion of interface between economics and baseball and why ...

Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2014

Verified Purchase

Missing recent applications of Big Data to Baseball based on PITCHF/x etc. but a good discussion of interface between economics and baseball and why for example the Yankees and Braves could chose differently.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Thomas L. Steffen

Diamond Dollars: The Economics of Winning in Baseball

Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2013

Verified Purchase

I am a sports enthuiast and this will help me with my fantasy teams, and give ge reading enjoyment. Thank you.

Helpful

Larry Underwood

Understanding Baseball's Bottom Line

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2011

In 1972, St Louis Cardinals owner August Busch insisted on trading future Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton, because the hurler requested a $10,000 raise. Clearly, Busch didn't understand how "saving" that lousy ten grand would ultimately cost him millions in lost revenue, since the Cardinals would be also-rans for the next ten years. Meanwhile, Carlton's new employer - the Philadelphia Phillies - were now on their way to becoming one of the NL's premier franchises, reaching the post season several times in the '70s, finally winning it all by 1980. Carlton was one of the biggest bargains in baseball history.

Nowadays, the business of creating winning baseball is far more challenging, with the multi-million dollar contracts that are routinely paid out to run-of-the-mill players; every contract signing has tremendous impact on a franchise's bottom line, which author Vince Gennaro explains in this fascinating book. The successful teams make the right free agent acquisitions; the unsuccessful teams make poor choices or stay on the sidelines altogether. The business of baseball can be a very lucrative enterprise for those making the post season on a regular basis; winning the World Series is icing on the cake.

The key to success in maximizing a baseball team's bottom line, is spending wisely; finding value where others don't, and understanding when the high-priced free agents quite often don't pay the dividends at the end of the season. Winning pays, much more than most casual observers understand.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Phil Kasiecki

Very good, but not for everyone

Reviewed in the United States on August 18, 2007

This is a very interesting book that I enjoyed, but there are certainly caveats to those who may be interested in reading this. This book isn't for everyone and there are a couple of recommended prerequisites from my vantage point.

For one, if you're just a casual baseball fan, this book is not for you. It goes into a lot of detail about the business side of baseball and on all levels, and many times I thought to myself that if I didn't know the game and players as I do, I'd probably be lost. It helped me greatly that I have played and coached in addition to having been a serious fan for many years.

Second, it doesn't hurt to understand a little about the business side of anything, as this book is very business-oriented. If you have no business intuition at all, the material in this book will just fly over your head. You don't have to be a Fortune 500 CEO, but at least know a little about how businesses are run and some of the terminology.

In short, while a very good book, it's not light reading and not for everyone. Officials of baseball teams are a primary audience, and this is a must-read for such people. If you're a baseball fan and know a little about business, you'll enjoy it, although even then there will be parts that aren't easy to digest. Early on, I had a little trouble keeping up with all the information being thrown at me, from pure numbers to other facts, and it's almost too much right away. But once I got past that, the rest of the book came much more easily for me.

10 people found this helpful

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